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business to one agency, hire a separate firm to handle its public
relations, and have still another
conduct sales promotions.
Most major agencies today practice the integrated marketing
approach in some way, often by
starting new divisions to handle areas they didn’t tackle before,
or buying (or allying with) smaller,
specialized shops that are already experts. The client is
ultimately accountable for managing its
agencies in a way that supports its overall communications
vision. For example, SS+K worked with
msnbc.com’s search agency 360i to support the integrated
branding campaign. (You’ll learn more
about the way they worked together soon.) Marketers are the
people most conscientious about
coordinating all of the messages that customers receive, but
they rely on their agencies to be vigilant
about this as well. So, let’s summarize what an integrated
perspective emphasizes:
available to support a communications
strategy. These include sales promotions, public relations,
personal selling, and direct marketing, as
well as advertisements.

f the tools over and above traditional
advertising at your disposal. These might
include placing branded billboards in videogames, dressing
actors in costumes and having them take
to the streets as “brand ambassadors,” or perhaps sending IMs
to kids on their cell phones.
starts by specifying communications
objectives and then details how to reach each of these.
maximize available resources even when
they are scarce. Repurposing ads and utilizing connections are
strategies that maximize resources.
SS+K Spotlight
All of us are better than each of us.
The point of strategic communication is to use the best tools
available to effect the desired change in the
marketplace. SS+K, like some other agencies, no longer draws
hard-and-fast distinctions among functions
such as advertising, promotions, direct marketing, and digital
and public relations. SS+K’s goal is to
achieve synergy among all the efforts that emanate from the
msnbc.com brand—to choose the best tools

for the job, not the ones that are most expected or familiar.
Compared to the “silos” that pervade some agencies, agency
creative director Marty Cooke sees more
value in combining disciplines than isolating them:
“The basic core idea of SS+K…is to get the different disciplines
of communications, writers, art directors,
designers, planners, strategy people, researchers, public
relations guys, public affairs guys, digital people,
direct mail people, whoever else you need, around the table, the
biggest brains you can get and let the
sparks fly. And that’s been kind of the magic of this place ever
since we started it, and it’s worked out very
well.”—Marty Cooke, Agency Creative Director
9.1 Integrated Marketing Communications: United We Stand
L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
After studying this section, students should be able to do the fol
lowing:
1.
Describe the integrated marketing communications perspective.
2.
List the various forms of marketing programs that are united by

integrated marketing communications.
The punk band Paramore is getting noticed; the group from a
small town in Tennessee sold more
than 350,000 copies of its recent second album “Riot!” and it’s
packed the house on the Vans
Warped Tour. Part of the band’s appeal is the cult following for
lead singer Hayley Williams (and
legions of young girls imitating her shaggy blonde and orange
hairstyle). But the group’s success is
also due to a new business model in the music industry, where
musicians work with their label to
coordinate a marketing campaign that includes album sales,
concert tickets, and merchandise. This
model is called multiple rights or“360” deals; the biggest to
date is Madonna’s recent $120 million
package with the concert promoter Live Nation. Lordi, a Finnish
metal band, has its own soft drink
and credit card, and the Pussycat Dolls opened a Dolls-themed
nightclub in Las Vegas. [1] Welcome to
the new look of integrated and cross-channel marketing.
Integrated marketing communications unites all forms of
marketing programs aimed at a target
audience, including magazine ads, TV commercials, coupons, an
opportunity to win a sweepstakes, a

display at the store, and a visit from a company sales rep.
There’s good reason to integrate: by
coordinating the messages across all the communication tools, a
company will speak to its customers
and potential customers in a single, unified voice. This unified
voice creates a more powerful and
memorable message than disjointed efforts produce.
Dig Deeper
When Unilever introduced its All Small & Mighty detergent, it
used a traditional ad campaign (TV and
print) to make the point that the new detergent is concentrated,
packed in a smaller bottle to create a
smaller ecofootprint while delivering the same results. In
addition, Unilever handed out samples from a
bus; it made the bus noticeable by draping it in laundry. Anyone
who spotted the bus could also send a
text message to enter a sweepstakes. Unilever also projected
“videoscapes” onto buildings and did a
product placement on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in which the
studio audience did their laundry. [2]
Campaigns that utilize multiple media platforms make a lot of
sense, especially in today’s media

environment. The simple truth is that consumers increasingly
rely on a greater mix of media for news,
entertainment, and product information. According to a late
2007 survey, 55 percent of consumers who
watch TV watch some type of video on devices other than their
TV sets, including their computers, mobile
phones, and digital media players (e.g., iPod). Not surprisingly,
video watching on these alternative
devices is more popular among younger consumers (66 percent)
than older ones (36 percent). [3]
Audio Spotlight
Joe Kessler
http://app.wistia.com/embed/medias/b837825e42
Joe Kessler, SS+K partner and director of the agency’s L.A.
office, speaks about the evolution of
integrated marketing—how it was practiced in the past (referred
to as IMC) and the mistakes that
agencies continue to make now.
Creating integrated marketing communications requires
deciding what kind of campaign the client
needs and identifying the best tools to deliver on those
objectives. The integrated program will
include anything from advertising, consumer sales promotion,

and trade promotions to public
relations, personal selling, direct marketing, and more. The
messaging works across platforms, and
is also referred to as cross-platform marketing. Let’s look at
each of these in turn.
K E Y T A K E A W A Y
Traditional agencies tend to focus on what they do well, but cus
tomers touch clients’ products in many
ways. An integrated perspective recognizes the value and efficie
ncy of carefully planning and coordinating
all of the communications tools—
from glitzy TV commercials to employees’ uniforms—
that impact the
impression the client makes in the marketplace.
E X E R C I S E S
a.
Describe the integrated marketing communications perspective a
nd comment on its usefulness to
advertising professionals.
b.
Explain how the SS+K advertising agency seems to differ from
other advertising agencies with respect to
communications and media focus.

[1] Jeff Leeds, “The New Deal: Band as Brand,” New York Tim
es Online, November 11,
2007,http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/arts/music/11leed.ht
ml (accessed November 11, 2007).
[2] Sarah Heim, “The Spin Cycle,” Adweek, July 23, 2007, 22.
[3] Jack Loechner, “Over Half of Connected TV Viewers Also
Watch on Alternative
Devices,”http://www.mediapost.com/publications/index.cfm?fa=
Articles.show Article&art_aid=73291 (accessed
January 2, 2008).
9.2 Elements of the Promotional Mix: The Advertiser’s Trusty
Tools
lowing:
1.
List and describe each of the elements of the promotional mix.
2. Characterize the various forms of sales promotion.
3. Describe the purpose of public relations.
4. Characterize the tools used to implement PR objectives.

5.
Discuss how personal selling can be used effectively in the pro
motional mix.
6.
Discuss the value of direct marketing in the promotional mix.
7.
Explain the concept of database marketing and how it can benefi
t advertisers.
8.
Explain the benefits of using customer relationship management
(CRM) in the marketplace.
We’ve already learned about the Four Ps that go into the
marketing mix; these are the tools
marketers use to create a value proposition for their idea,
product, or service in the marketplace.
When we drill down to the crucial P of Promotion (the reason
you’re reading this book), you won’t be
surprised to learn of an equivalent set of tools that advertisers
use (either singly or, more often, in
concert) to communicate the important elements of that value
proposition. We call these tools
the promotional mix.
Sales Promotions

A sales promotion is activity intended to produce some short-
term change in behavior. This can range
from a cents-off coupon that motivates a customer to buy a box
of cereal today to a sales contest that
inspires an employee to sign up as many customers as he can by
the end of the month.
When the Target Is Consumers
Sales promotions targeted to consumers encourage purchase or
build interest in a product during a
specified time period. The key element of sales promotions is
its limited-time nature. Consumer sales
promotion tools include the following:
Price or Value Discount Promotion Tools
Price or value discount promotion tools include coupons for
packaged-goods products like deodorant.
These offer cents off the price and have an expiration date of a
few months out, encouraging immediate
purchase. Similarly, pizza delivery companies located near
colleges typically have special deals at the start
of the semester to entice new customers.
In addition to coupons companies place in newspapers, send by
mail (or by mobile phone), or offer on a
Web site, a marketer may offer a temporary price reduction at

the store or offer a rebate. Unlike a coupon,
which gives the discount immediately upon purchase, a rebate
refunds part of the purchase price to the
consumer after the consumer fills out and returns a form along
with a sales receipt to the company.
Bonus packs deliver more product without more cost, such as 20
percent more nuts in a canned nut mix,
or 33 percent more liquid soap for the same price. Some
companies offer bonus packs twice a year as a
way to reward customers with special offers. Other companies
time their bonus packs to economic cycles.
“Whenever there is a downturn in the economy, we do very well
with bonus packs and opening price
shampoos like Suave, VO5 and Jheri Rhedding,” said Larry
Vick, divisional merchandise manager for
ShopKo. During difficult economic times, people are careful
with their money and like to buy products
that offer more of the good for the same amount of money. [1]
Hint: With all of the economic woes
surrounding us, the coupon business is a pretty nice place to be
right now.
Visibility‐ Increasing Promotion Tools

A premium is a free item you receive if you purchase another
item. Sexy Hair Concepts, for example,
offered free styling gel with purchase of their shampoo or
conditioner during the “Girls Night Out” days at
Beauty Brands retail stores. In some cases, the premium may
directly encourage future product sales,
such as the Campbell’s Soup Cookbook containing new recipes
that just happen to call for additional soup
flavors.
Contests and sweepstakes offer the opportunity to win an
exciting prize like a vacation to Hawaii or a
$1,000 shopping spree. The difference between the two is that a
contest is a test of skill, whereas a
sweepstakes is simply based on luck. For example, a contest
may ask consumers to bake a cake using the
brand as an ingredient, whereas a sweepstakes simply requires
filling out the entry form.
By law, sweepstakes cannot be tied to a purchase, which means
that any consumer can be eligible to win
the prize if they fill out the entry form. Therefore, it’s best to
use sweepstakes to build awareness of your
brand, not to drive immediate sales. The sweepstakes should be
cleverly tied to your brand. For example,
if your product is canned pineapple, a sweepstakes with the

grand prize of a trip to Hawaii makes sense. If
your product is motor oil, a sweepstakes in which the grand
prize is a chance to be on a NASCAR pit crew
team is more relevant and effective than winning a lunch date
with Hannah Montana (Danica Patrick is
another story). Sweepstakes also offer an opportunity to
generate publicity (discussed below) during a
time when you are not introducing new products.
Volume‐ Increasing Promotion Tools
Sampling is a popular (though expensive) promotional tool.
Food and beverage companies often provide
free samples to consumers to give them a chance to try a new
product for free. More than one college
student has feasted for free by timing strategic visits to stores
like Sam’s Club that provide tastes of new
food items. Sometimes the packets will be a smaller trial size,
such as two packets of Celestial Seasonings
tea rather than a box; other times the sample will be full size,
like a cup of Silk yogurt. In the example we
mentioned previously, Unilever handed out free samples of its
new detergent. Sampling intends to
increase future sales volume by acquiring new customers for the
product.

Loyalty programs reward consumers for their frequent,
continuing purchase of a product. Frequent flyer
programs such as the United Airlines Mileage Plus program
offer free miles to their customers with each
flight they purchase. The more miles they fly per year, the
bigger the bonus mileage. For example,
customers who fly fifty thousand miles or more per year get
double bonus miles (a hundred thousand
miles or the equivalent of four free airline tickets in the United
States) for the miles they’ve purchased.
These loyalty programs offer additional perks, such as shorter
lines, to their loyal customers. Restaurants
or coffee shops often have punch cards that reward customers
with a free coffee or sandwich after the
purchase of nine coffees or sandwiches.
When the Target Is Trade Partners (Employees, Distributors,
and Retailers)
As consumers we probably don’t see many of the more
aggressive promotions that companies sponsor.
Trade promotions are for a company’s employees or for channel
partners such as retailers or wholesale
distributors who help get the product in the hands of the
ultimate customer.

Trade promotions fall into two main categories: discount
promotions and industry
visibility. Discount promotions offer the trade partner a reduced
cost on the product or help to defray the
partner’s advertising expenses. The goal is to encourage the
partner to stock the item and bring attention
to it. Promotions that increase industry visibility, on the other
hand, focus on creating enthusiasm and
excitement among salespeople and customers.
Discount Promotions
Merchandising allowances are price breaks the manufacturer
offers to its channel partners when it
reimburses the retailer for in-store support of a product, such as
a special off-shelf or end-of-aisle display
of the product. For example, when Volvo wanted to double the
sales of its certified used vehicles, it offered
dealers a $200-per-vehicle cooperative advertising allowance.
Case allowances are a discount the manufacturer offers to the
channel partner based on the volume of
products it buys during the deal period. The greater number of
products the partner buys, the greater the
discount.

Visibility‐ Increasing Promotions
Industry trade shows are events at which manufacturers
showcase their products, often in elaborate,
attention-getting booths or through giveaway samples and
product information. Distributors and retailers
learn more about a company’s products and can ask questions or
experience the product directly. The
manufacturer, in turn, collects business cards and sales leads on
potential partners. For example, to draw
customers into its booth at fluid industry shows, ITT (a
company that manufactures fluid technology
systems) built a water fountain branded with ITT and placed a
sixty-by-eighteen-foot, three-dimensional
banner at the entrance to the convention hall. [2]
Dig Deeper
The trade show industry generates billions of dollars a year and
affects the economies of many other
sectors such as travel and hospitality. Some major trade shows
dwarf the size of small cities when they’re
running; shows like MAGIC (menswear apparel) and CES
(computers and technology) easily attract over
a hundred thousand attendees. In a typical (2009) show, CES

features twenty-seven hundred exhibitors
spanning thirty product categories. Approximately twenty
thousand new products will launch at this
event. [3] Trade shows are a major expenditure for companies;
the typical mid- to large-size firm spends
well over half a million dollars each year to display at shows.
That’s a lot of free T-shirts, tote bags, and
sore feet by the end of the day.
Despite the appeal of these shows where freebies, parties, and
networking (and the occasional drunk
conventioneer) abound, there are alternatives to these massive
schmoozefests. As travel costs continue to
escalate along with concerns about the sizeable carbon footprint
that a hundred thousand people create
when they converge on convention sites like Las Vegas, some
industries are starting to experiment with
virtual trade shows that you attend from your desktop. Both
IBM and Cisco are proponents of this
alternative.
Some of these virtual shows are accessible via Web sites that
give you access to hundreds of exhibitors, job
listings, and so on. Others are even more adventurous; they are
held in virtual worlds where your avatar

can wander among aisles of exhibitors, look at new products,
dialogue in real time with company
representatives, even taste the free hors d’oeuvres (well, maybe
not quite yet). Startup companies like
Unisfair are moving aggressively into this virtual space.
One of the biggest advantages of a virtual trade show is that the
exhibitors can track the behavior of
potential customers who visit the show. Since attendees are
anonymous, they won’t be intimidated by
pushy salespeople, so they’re free to stay or leave when they
choose. [4]
Check out Unisfair (http://www.unisfair.com) and sample some
virtual trade show environments. What’s
your verdict—is this a viable substitute for that Vegas junket
you’re hoping to glom onto?
Incentive programs, also known as push money, give
salespeople or channel partners free trips, cash
bonuses, or other gifts as a reward when they sell the
manufacturer’s product. For example, Revlon may
give incentives to manicurists to recommend Revlon products to
their clients.
Promotional products are the “swag” that companies give out,
stuff like free pens, polo shirts, coffee mugs,

and key chains emblazoned with a company’s logo. The purpose
is to keep the brand top of mind by
keeping it visible in the channel partner’s daily life. The most
effective promotional products are ones that
are attractive and convey a positive message about your product
or services. They often keep a brand or
company top of mind because the logo is hard to miss when you
use or wear the premium. To get an idea
of the mind-boggling array of swag that’s available out there,
visit The Gifts & Premiums Manufacturers
Directory at http://www.globalsources.com/suppliers/Gift-
Premium/3000000151985.htm. And you
thought scoring a free pen was a major coup!
Public Relations
The purpose of public relations (PR) is to build good
relationships with the advertiser’s publics, namely
consumers, stockholders, legislators, and employees. We define
PR as “communication that attempts to
earn public understanding and acceptance of the firm by
stressing the practices, policies, and procedures
of an individual or the organization. This can be accomplished
by identifying donations to charitable
organizations, sponsorship of esteemed causes or events,

contributions to individual, community, or
societal well-being, and so on.” [5]
Although it’s difficult to agree on a definition (depending w ho
in the industry you ask), public relations
frequently focuses on identifying and making public noteworthy
information about clients, or creating
newsworthy events for the purposes of heightening their clients’
public profiles. Traditionally,
communications professionals have perceived public relations
differently from advertising, which is
persuasive, controlled content paid for by an identified sponsor.
To the contrary, PR messages are not
purchased and placed, or ultimately controlled, by cli ents. If
news or information pieces originating with
PR sources ultimately make it into the public discourse, it is
presumably because the items warrant
attention on their own merits and the original source of the
information—the public relations
professional—is obscured.
Today, distinctions between the disciplines are less clear -cut:
frequently, advertising agencies are
instrumental in trying to cultivate social networks and free,
word-of-mouth exposure for their

clients. Guerrilla marketing, like events staged by public
relations professionals that “ambush” consumers
with messages in places they’re not expecting to encounter
them, can be effective ways of attracting highly
valued news coverage for clients. Advertising agencies initiate
and exploit consumer-generated content
that is used for commercial purposes, thereby relinquishing
control of the creative product in the process,
much as PR professionals do when they issue press releases for
editors to reformulate for their audiences.
Some agencies take advantage of the relative anonymity of the
Internet to develop positive chat and
“consumer” reviews about their clients’ products—the source of
content promoting products is not always
clearly linked to an agency source, as public relations sources
are seldom identified as the source of stories
featuring their clients.
Press Release
One core tool of public relations is the press release, which can
be anywhere from a paragraph to several
pages long. The press release is a report of an event that the
marketer (or the marketer’s PR agency)

writes and distributes to the media in hopes that they will write
about or feature the event. Related to the
press release is the video news release (VNR), which describes
the event via video rather than words. The
topics covered by press releases are wide ranging, but the
common thread is that they are topical and
newsworthy, such as announcing a new product, new research,
or timely helpful information to
consumers, such as romantic getaway ideas a travel company
publishes ahead of Valentine’s Day.
Press releases always conclude with contact information for the
marketer and sometimes the PR
company. This key piece is so that reporters can call for more
information or an interview. A popular
disseminator of press releases is PR Newswire; go to
http://www.prnewswire.com to see the latest news
releases.
Media Event
A company will often preannounce a forthcoming media event
to garner attention for a product
introduction, new channel partner, or major change in strategy.
The goal is to give the media time to
create background stories and bring reporters and news crews to
the event to ensure the broadest possible

audience. For example, when Apple brought the iPhone to the
United Kingdom, it told the press that
Steve Jobs, the company’s CEO, would be making an
announcement at Apple’s London store in the heart
of the city’s main shopping district.
Publicity
Public relations often aims to generate publicity, which is
unpaid communication about an organization
that appears in the media. The success of a PR campaign is
measured in terms of impressions—the
number of times a company is mentioned in the media. For
example, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream created the
world’s largest baked Alaska for Earth Day 2005. It placed a
1,140-pound, four-foot-tall dessert made
from Ben & Jerry’s Fossil Fuel flavor in front of the Capitol in
Washington, D.C., to symbolize the
environmental damage that drilling in the wildlife preserve
would cause. The program cost only $40,000
but generated more than thirty million media impressions. The
publicity program reinforced Ben &
Jerry’s brand as a socially conscious, green company while
bringing attention to its ice cream products. [6]

Dig Deeper
A publicity campaign for a late-night cartoon show backfired
when it aroused fears of a terrorist attack
and temporarily shut down the city of Boston in 2007. To
promote the Cartoon Network TV show Aqua
Teen Hunger Force (a surreal series about a talking milkshake, a
box of fries, and a meatball), an agency
placed prominent blinking electronic signs with hanging wires
and batteries on bridges and in other high-
profile spots in several U.S. cities. Most depicted a boxy
cartoon character giving passersby the finger.
Bomb squads and other police personnel required to investigate
the mysterious boxes cost the city of
Boston more than $500,000—and a lot of frayed nerves. [7] Can
you identify other publicity stunts that
ended badly? Or (as the saying goes) is it true that “there’s no
such thing as bad publicity” if the stunt calls
attention to the client?
Crisis Management
As the Cartoon Network found out, publicity can cut both ways.
Sometimes negative events happen to the
company and the media reports these in great and glaring detail.
Product defects, a serious accident at a

company facility, management malfeasance, or major layoffs
can tarnish the reputation of the firm. A
company must be prepared to deal with such negative publicity.
Once the negative story is out there, there’s nothing you can do
except minimize the damage. That calls
for crisis management. During such a time it’s important to
present your side of the story as clearly as
possible and to demonstrate integrity as you correct any
mistakes. The best way to do this is to have
a single spokesperson talk with the media. This may mean
“locking the business down” by asking
everyone on the staff not to comment on the news story but to
refer the question to the spokesperson so
that the message is consistent and accurate. The most
trustworthy spokesperson for the company is
usually its CEO, because such high-level attention will show
that the CEO stands behind the company.
When U.S. toy brand Mattel was forced to recall eighteen
million toys after Chinese-made products were
shown to be potentially unsafe, Mattel’s CEO, Bob Eckert,
explained what went wrong, apologized,
accepted responsibility, and took action. During the time of

crisis, it’s crucial for the CEO or spokesperson
to be upfront, direct, and very proactive. In addition to holding
a press conference, Eckert filmed a
separate online video apology. In his statements, he
sympathized with parents, saying, “I’m a parent of
four kids as well.” Mattel also took out full-page ads in major
newspapers: the New York Times, the Wall
Street Journal, and USA Today. Finally, Mattel’s Web site
posted comprehensive recall details and
explained how to receive a free replacement toy of equal value.
Posting a response on their Web site is a
faster way for companies to get the message out than might be
possible through traditional media. [8]
Personal Selling
Personal selling involves direct interaction between a company
representative and the customer. The
main advantage of personal selling is the ability to tailor the
message to the customer in real time,
responding not only to their questions but also to their body
language and tone. This type of direct contact
lets the salesperson address customer concerns, sometimes even
when the customer hasn’t voiced them
aloud. Salespeople in fashion retail stores are ready (or at least
they should be) with advice on how to

accessorize an outfit or to help in deciding among outfits.
Personal selling is even more important in
products that are complex and require significant customer
education or custom configuration. A sales
force is a key part of medical products sales, information
technology and solutions sales, or other complex
products and services selling.
Team Selling
Personal selling can also be done through an outside network of
sales reps. For example, Barefoot Parties
sells loungewear, accessories, and gifts for women through at-
home parties held by its sales agents.
Agents get bonuses based on the amount of income the party
generates in addition to a minimum base
commission of 20 percent from the party sales. [9]
Some products and services are so complex and intertwined that
a team sales approach is needed, in
which the selling is handled by a team of salespeople, technical
specialists, field engineers, and supply
chain specialists who coordinate the timetable from order to
production to delivery. Telecommunications
equipment provider Lucent uses this kind of team approach,
pairing supply chain executives with sales

reps on the sales team. Technical specialists work with the
customer to design a cell phone network, for
example. In one case, Lucent created a CDMA (Code Division
Multiple Access) cell phone network for a
customer in India. The network included over fifty switching
centers, twenty-five hundred base stations,
and three hundred thousand circuit pack and cables. Such
complexity demands a team sales approach.
Sales Force Automation (SFA)
Marketing information systems and CRM systems often include
tools to help the sales
force. Sales force automation (SFA) includes a myriad of
functions such as contact management, sales
quote automation, sales order information, and reporting
functions. The tools use CRM and other data to
maximize the productivity and effectiveness of the sales force.
For example, salespeople who use a service
like Salesforce (http://www.salesforce.com) can keep track of
their sales leads and construct their call
schedules to be most efficient, while their managers can track
their performance and identify bad and
good performers easily.

Downsides of Personal Selling
The disadvantages of personal selling are its high labor costs
and the corollary: it’s difficult to reach large
numbers of people when you try to speak them to one-to-one.
Also, the information communicated may
vary from the intended message. Sometimes salespeople, in an
effort to “get the sale” or “go the extra
mile” for their potential customer, may bend the rules in a way
that’s detrimental for the company, such
as by promising a delivery date that forces the company to pay
extra in expediting costs or overtime in an
effort to meet the promised date. Worse, a company might
suffer bad publicity as a result of a
salesperson’s unethical actions.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing refers to sales communications delivered
directly to individual customers through e-
mail, direct mail, and telemarketing. The goal is to use
information about individuals in order to present
them with messages relevant to their needs and interests. The
growth of consumer databases and
improvement of technology and methods (such as advanced
modeling and segmentation strategies) has

led to increased use—and increased success—of direct
marketing. For example, in the United States in
2006 direct marketing generated incremental sales of $1.93
trillion, which was 10 percent of the GDP.
Each dollar spent on direct marketing yields, on average, an
ROI (return on investment) of $11.65,
compared to an ROI of $5.29 for traditional advertising.[10]
How does direct marketing fit into an integrated campaign? One
application is to send a direct mail piece
(usually a letter or package) to a targeted list of customers
inviting them to visit a Web site where they can
receive further information. For example, Pitney Bowes
Mapinfo (a company that provides software and
services to help business executives make location-based
decisions, such as site selection) mailed
executives one-half of a CD to drive the message that without
the dimension of location, their analysis is
not complete. The mail piece gave executives a Web address
from which they could download a free white
paper to learn more about location intelligence. Mapinfo
combined the direct mail piece with banner ads
on business-publication Web sites (such as BusinessWeek

[http://www.businessweek.com], Forbes
[http://www.forbes.com], CNNMoney [http://money.cnn.com],
and MSNMoney
[http://moneycentral.msn.com]) to drive executives to the white
paper. The result? Mapinfo received
more than three thousand white paper downloads, of which more
than 70 percent were senior
management executives; more than thirteen hundred opt-ins to
receive e-mail communications from
MapInfo; and more than two hundred registrations for
Mapinfo’s webinar. [11]
In another example, Babcock & Jenkins, a direct-marketing
agency, developed an integrated campaign for
Sun Microsystems. The campaign included direct mail, e-mail,
telemarketing, and online marketing to
drive potential new Sun customers to a Web site where they
could register to win prizes in a sweepstakes.
The campaign was a B2B (business-to-business) campaign in
which Babcock & Jenkins helped Sun
deliver leads to its channel partners (namely the resellers who
sell Sun systems). The campaign generated
120 percent more registrations than expected. The success was
due in part to demographic profiling that
identified potential customers and why they buy, and then used

an integrated campaign to reinforce the
messages and reach customers in different ways. “We use an
approach we call connected strategy,” said
Denise Barnes, president of Babcock & Jenkins, “integrating
direct mail, e-mail, telemarketing, banners,
newsletters, print, microsites, events, podcasts, webcasts and
social media into one-to-one
communications for our clients.”[12]
Dig Deeper
One of the issues direct marketing raises is that of violating
people’s privacy and of controlling a flood of
offers that can be sent en masse to consumers, defeating the
purpose of targeted, individual
communications. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
helps stem the tide of unwanted phone calls
and e-mail (spam) through initiatives like e-mail authentication
and by giving consumers the option to
remove themselves from mailing lists
(https://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing) or from
prescreened credit card offers (by calling 1-888-5optOut). What
rights to privacy (and to not being
disturbed at dinnertime) do consumers have? What happens to

direct marketers who violate those rights?
Database Marketing
Many sophisticated advertisers understand that it makes sense
to keep track of their customers —and
perhaps even those who aren’t their customers (at least yet!).
Database marketing is a system of
marketing that collects information from consumers and then
uses it to build a long-term relationship
with a customer. Today this strategy underpins many
promotional tools, especially those that have an
element of direct communications with the customer, such as
personal sales and direct marketing.
Databases contain customer names, addresses, purchase
profiles, psychographic and demographic details,
purchase patterns, media preferences, credit ratings, and other
information that helps a company target
and create the right message and offer for each customer. This
data can come from sources such as
internal sales data, online opt-in registrations, loyalty program
data, contest forms, third-party database
sellers, and public government records (e.g., home sales).
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
For this reason, database marketing has evolved to be

calledcustomer relationship management (CRM).
CRM uses the specific information about individual customers
to create more effective marketing
communications specific to them. For example, if you know that
an individual customer has a ten-year-
old child, you can target her with offers relevant to children in
that age group, Or, if you know that the
customer has bought Lunchables, you can send her a coupon to
stimulate a repeat purchase or to cross-
sell a related product.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs that reward customers for continuing to
purchase from the company make extensive
use of CRM. For example, the retailer Brookstone uses its
loyalty program to recognize customers who
have purchased from its store, catalog, or Web site before
(using an e-mail address, phone number, or
membership number to recognize the customer). Brookstone
records every sales transaction across every
channel (whether at the store, online, or through a catalog) and
rewards the customer with credits based
on how much they have purchased from the company.
Customers can apply these credits toward future

purchases; this cements their relationship with the company.
[13]
Behavioral Targeting
For better or worse, technological advances make it easier and
easier for marketers to track us and our
preferences very precisely. As we saw when we discussed target
marketing, one hot trend is behavioral
targeting, which refers to presenting people with advertisements
based on their Internet use. For
example, Microsoft combines personal data from the 263
million users of its free Hotmail e-mail service—
the biggest in the world—with information it gains from
monitoring their searches. When you sign up for
Hotmail, the service asks you for personal information
including your age, occupation, and address
(though you’re not required to answer). If you use Microsoft’s
search engine it calls Live Search, the
company keeps a record of the words you search for and the
results you clicked on. Microsoft’s behavioral
targeting system will allow its advertising clients to send
different ads to each person surfing the Web. For
instance, if a twenty-five-year-old financial analyst living in a
big city is comparing prices of cars online,

BMW could send her an ad for a Mini Cooper. But it could send
a forty-five-year-old suburban
businessman with children who is doing the same search an ad
for the X5 SUV. [14]
Going a step further, CBS recently announced that it is testing a
system that customizes the ads you’ll see
on your cell phone based on your location. Its CBS Mobile unit
is teaming up with the social networking
service Loopt, which allows its subscribers to track
participating friends and family on their mobile
phones. [15] In the (near?) future, you might well find ads
popping up on your cell phone from stores you
are literally walking past on the street. Yes, they are watching
you…
Dig Deeper
A 2006 survey found that 57 percent of the consumers it polled
say they are willing to provide
demographic information in exchange for a personalized online
experience. And three-quarters of those
involved in an online social network felt that this process would
improve their experience because it
would serve to introduce them to others who share their tastes
and interests. However, a majority still

express concern about the security of their personal data online.
[16]
How big a problem is this—and are consumers getting more or
less concerned about potential invasions of
privacy as behavioral targeting strategies proliferate? How do
you feel about sharing your online behavior
with advertisers?
Advertisers have many tools to include in the promotional mix t
hey design for a client; these include sales
promotions, public relations, personal selling, and direct market
ing. No one tool is perfect; each has
strengths and weaknesses, and often the tools are most effective
when they’re combined. For example, an
ad campaign for a new movie can be paired with a sales promoti
on in partnership with a retailer—like
when Burger King featured its “Which Spidey Suits You?” scrat
ch‐ and‐ win game pieces on specially marked
menu items.
E X E R C I S E S
a.
List and describe each of the elements of the promotional mix.

b.
Identify which of the sales promotion tools can be personalized
and customized, which reward customers
for frequent patronage, and which reward distributors for sales
performance.
c.
Define public relations and demonstrate how marketers can use
PR to meet communication objectives.
d.
Explain the importance of “impressions” in gaining publicity.
e.
Explain the role played by personal selling in the promotional m
ix.
f.
Describe the role of direct marketing in increasing an organizati
on’s promotion return on investment
(ROI).
g.
Discuss how database marketing can be used to further promotio
nal mix objectives.
[1] Liz Parks, “Value‐ Priced Bonus Packs Revive Limp Hair C
are Segment.” DSN Retailing Today, April 22, 2002, 19.
[2] Kate Maddox, “The Future Looks Bright, with Marketing Ex
panding and Online Exploding,” B to B, December 11,

2006, 28.
[3] International CES, http://www.cesweb.org/exhibitorDirector
y/default.asp (accessed July 12, 2008).
[4] Janet Meiners, “Trade Shows Go Virtual,” Marketing Pilgri
m, November 16,
2007,http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/11/trade‐ shows‐
go‐ virtual.html (accessed July 12,
2008); http://www.unisfair.com (accessed July 12, 2008).
[5] Quoted in Stephen J. Grove, Les Carlson, and Michael J. Do
rsch, “Comparing the Application of Integrated
Marketing Communication (IMC) in Magazine Ads Across Prod
uct Type and Time,” Journal of Advertising 36, no. 1
(Spring 2007): 37.
[6] “Ben & Jerry’s: A Green Pioneer,” Advertising Age, June 11
, 2007, S‐ 8.
[7] Suzanne Smalley and Raja Mishra, “Governor, Mayor Livid
as Boston Ad Stunt Spurs Chaos,” Boston Globe,
January 31,
2007,http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/
2007/01/31/governor_mayor_livid_as_boston_
ad_stunt_spurs_chaos/ (accessed February 13, 2009).

[8] Donna Goodison, “Weathering Toy Recall Crisis,” Boston H
erald, August 16, 2007, 32.
[9] Tim Parry, “Get in on the Party,” Merchant, January 1, 2007
, n.p.
[10] Direct Marketing Association, The Power of Direct Marketi
ng: ROI, Sales, Expenditures and Employment in the
US, 2006–2007 Edition (New York: DMA, 2006).
[11] “Pitney Bowes Intelligently Plots Strategy for MapInfo,” B
to B, August 13, 2007, 28.
[12] Kate Maddox, “Babcock & Jenkins Focuses on Database‐
Driven Marketing; Runner‐ up Direct Agency of the
Year,” B to B, October 9, 2006, 30.
[13] Connie Robbins Gentry, “Personal Recognition: Multichan
nel Retailers Market One‐ On‐ One to Loyal
Shoppers,” Chain Store Age, January 2007, 78.
[14] Aaron O. Patrick, “Microsoft Ad Push Is All about You: ‘B
ehavioral Targeting’ Aims to Use Customer
Preferences to Hone Marketing Pitches,” Wall Street Journal, D
ecember 26, 2006, B3; Brian Steinberg, “Next Up on
Fox: Ads That Can Change Pitch,” Wall Street Journal, April 21
, 2005, B1; Bob Tedeschi, “Every Click You Make,
They’ll Be Watching You,”New York Times Online, April 3,
2006,http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/03/business/03ecom.htm

l (February 10, 2009); David Kesmodel,
“Marketers Push Online Ads Based on Your Surfing Habits,” W
all Street Journal on the Web, April 5,
2005,http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111202090636790858,0
0.html? mod=mm_hs_advertising (February 10,
2009).
[15] Laura M. Holson, “In CBS Test, Mobile Ads Find Users,”
New York Times Online, February 6,
2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/technology/06mobile
.html(accessed February 10, 2009).
[16] “Consumers Willing to Trade Off Privacy for Electronic Pe
rsonalization,” Marketing
Daily, http://www.mediapost.com (accessed January 23, 2007).
9.3 Create the Promotional Plan
lowing:
1.
Create a promotional plan by following the suggested execution
steps.
2.

Describe how small businesses can use integrated or cross‐ chan
nel promotional planning to meet their
objectives.
Like a traditional advertising strategy, before you craft an
integrated strategy, it’s important to be
clear about what you hope to achieve, how much you can afford
to spend to achieve it, and what the
promotion will say.
What, Who, Where—and How Much?
We have to be able to answer these four basic questions before
we move forward:
you wish to achieve?
you plan to say? Who is the
target of the message?
An integrated promotional plan needs to address these four
questions. To see how this works in the real
world, let’s look at how Kellogg’s developed such a plan for its
Special K cereal brand. First, the company
set sales objectives, which included targets for existing
products as well as for new launches. Then,

Kellogg’s promotion team worked with its ad agency to define
the messaging strategy. The focus was on
losing weight and maintaining that weight loss by using Special
K products. Then, the question was how
to implement the strategy and how to allocate the client’s
promotional budget to each part of the plan. The
team divided the campaign into a series of initiatives timed to
different seasons, and it earmarked a
specific amount to spend on each initiative:
six pounds in two weeks. This part of the
campaign drew in new customers to the brand. The campaign
launched to coincide with New Year’s
resolutions to lose weight.
You Beach Ready?” This campaign
featured a beach towel and bag as a premium.
third campaign in the series began in the fall, this time
with a “Drop a Jean Size!” theme, giving
customers a free pair of jeans in an instant-win sweepstakes
when their weight loss goal was achieved.
pounds with
a free-in-mail personal training DVD.

packages. The coupons boosted multiple
purchases. Print ads in publications targeting women (fashion
and parenting magazines) and TV
commercials during programs with high female viewership
supported ongoing brand awareness.
The integrated campaign worked well: Special K saw growth
across all of its product lines, with double-
digit growth for the brand for the year. Special K exceeded its
targets for existing products as well as new
products. “Integration is the key to consumer engagement,” said
Marta Cyhan, Kellogg’s VP-worldwide
promotions. “The goal of promotion is to build the brand while
motivating consumer interaction.” [1]
Raisin’ Awareness: How the CRMB Executed Its Plan
Now that we’ve looked at all the elements in turn, let’s put it all
together to see the execution of an
integrated marketing campaign. We’ll use the example of the
California Raisin Marketing Board (CRMB),
whose goal is to promote California raisins.
Set the Objectives

The first step was to set the objectives for the campaign. The
target audience was women with children at
home. The CRMB began with research, which showed that
moms—and adults in general—were aware of
health-related issues but felt they were too busy to always eat
healthy foods. The CRMB could capitalize
on this opportunity to promote raisins as a healthy, easy snack
for moms and kids alike. With this
objective in mind, the CRMB set three specific goals for the
campaign:
1. To create a personality for raisins that would appeal to the
target audience
2. To generate excitement among trade partners (food service
operators, manufacturers, supermarkets)
to offer raisins and raisin-based products
3. To raise awareness and demand for raisins among the target
audience
The CRMB hired ad agency MeringCarson to design an ad
campaign. MeringCarson developed different
concepts and then tested these concepts through focus group
research. The research revealed that the
most effective campaign was one that spoke to the target
audience as women, not just mothers. “One
campaign in particular featuring serene images of women

consuming raisins as a part of their daily lives
struck a responsive chord,” said Greg Carson, partner and
Creative Director of MeringCarson.
“Consumers loved the use of peaceful colors and imagery and
the messages of health and empowerment
embodied in the ads.”
Define and Execute
With the concepts and copy strategy complete, CRMB next
devised the integrated brand promotion plan,
which included print, online, PR, and sweepstakes.
well as trade publications aimed at
foodservice, industrial, and retail sectors.
ofhttp://www.LoveYourRaisins.com using the same
artwork as the print ads and providing additional information
(like recipes and nutrition facts) as well
as a free newsletter that provides timely seasonal recipes using
raisins.
-to-school sweepstakes that
consumers can enter

at http://www.LoveYourRaisins.com to win a three-night, two-
day trip to a major theme park in
Florida or California for a family of four. Other sweepstakes
included a weekend spa getaway at
Miramonte Resort and Spa, along with a free on-the-go bag
featuring the advertising artwork and
filled with a plush California raisins character, California raisin
samples, a compact mirror from the
spa, relaxation lotion, and a refrigerator magnet to keep raisins
top of mind.
celebrity fitness trainer, who acted as a
spokesperson for California raisins during her satellite and
radio media tour. Each sweepstakes was
announced by a press release. Press releases aimed at trade
publications discussed the health benefits
of raisins and announced industry news such as CRMB’s
sponsorship of new raisin pie categories in
the American Pie Council’s Crisco National Pie Championships.
[2]
While registering for the sweepstakes, moms could get a
premium such as a free California Raisin lunch
bag filled with a California Raisin plush toy; California Raisin
snack packs, water bottle, and magnet; and

tips from Valerie Waters.
In Chapter 13 you will see msnbc.com’s fully integrated and
launched campaign.
Integrated Campaigns for Small Businesses
How does a small business, say one that has less than six
figures to spend on an ad campaign, advertise
successfully against competitors with $20 million to spend
annually? The point is not how much you
spend, but how well you spend it on a set of well-coordinated
marketing communications.
Pool Resources with Associations and Loyal Customers
One way to extend the reach of a small budget is to pool
resources through a trade association. For
example, small whiskey distilleries pool their ad money through
the Distilled Spirits Council of the United
States. Similarly, the California Raisin Board is an association
of raisin growers throughout California;
we’ve already seen how effective this group is. Using word of
mouth is another key strategy: loyal
customers become de facto brand ambassadors who spread the
word to others. Third, develop Web
initiatives that allow people to interact with the brand. Small

companies rely on creative ideas to generate
curiosity and conversation that will draw free publicity.
Go Small and Local
Another low-budget option is to sponsor local or niche events.
Red Bull energy drink drove its growth by
sponsoring niche extreme sports that traditional big-budget
corporate sponsors ignored. Finally,
companies that make products can consider conducting local
tours of their factories or facilities as a way
to introduce new customers to their products, become a tourist
destination, and build publicity around
that.
A strategy requires several pieces: First, set objectives for the p
romotion—and be sure to specify
measurable changes you hope to achieve so you can determine h
ow successful your strategy is. Second,
set a budget (be realistic). Third, devise a messaging strategy w
here you decide what you want to say and
to whom. Finally, identify your promotional mix, being sure it f
its the target customer you’ve decided you
want to reach (don’t just pick the media you’re used to, or the o
nes that are “sexy,” if these aren’t the

best fit to your customer). Even small businesses can implement
an IMC strategy, but they have to be
more creative when they harness local communications platform
s to tell their story.
E X E R C I S E S
a.
List and describe the integrated marketing communications plan
ning steps used in the California
Raisins promotional plan.
b.
Explain how small businesses can use integrated marketing com
munications planning to enhance their
promotional planning ability.
[1] Kathleen M. Joyce, “Motivating Out of the Box.” Promo, No
vember 1, 2006, n.p.
[2] Kim Bedwell, “Consumer Marketing: California Raisins Lau
nch New Campaign,” Agri Marketing 44, no. 9
(November–December 2006): 37.
9.4 Exercises
T I E I T A L L T O G E T H E R

Now that you have read this chapter, you should be able to deter
mine how to choose the best media
weapons to solve communication and advertising problems:
You can identify the integrated marketing communications (IM
C) perspective and comment on its
usefulness.
You can list some ways advertising agencies use the integrated
marketing communications approach.
You can describe SS+K partner Joe Kessler’s thoughts on the ev
olution of integrated marketing
communications and media choices in the marketplace.
You can identify and describe the tools of the promotional mix.
You can characterize the various forms of sales promotion and h
ow they can be best used to solve
problems.
You can describe the purpose of public relations and characteriz
e the tools used to implement PR
objectives.

You can discuss how personal selling can be used effectively in
the promotional mix.
You can compare and contrast direct marketing and database ma
rketing as means to enhance relations
between the company and its customers.
You can create an IMC promotional plan by following the execu
tion steps described in the chapter.
U S E W H A T Y O U ’ V E L E A R N E D
1.
You may not be a NASCAR fan, but this fast‐ paced sport is ho
ping to catch your attention in the days
ahead. NASCAR is an aggressive marketing and promotion orga
nization (see http://www.nascar.com) with
an ever‐ expanding fan base. This expanding fan base is changi
ng the face of NASCAR and its races. Some
say that a NASCAR event today is like going to a “celebrity nig
ht out.” Most NASCAR purists, on the other
hand, believe that NASCAR is all about cars, cars, and more car
s. After seven years of research and design
experimentation, NASCAR has unveiled its “Car of Tomorrow”
and believes that this speedy but safer car

will help advance the popularity of NASCAR even more in the n
ext decade. Considering how NASCAR must
appeal to loyal fans and find new ones, design an integrated mar
keting communication (IMC) promotional
plan that would help to spread NASCAR’s message about its ne
w car to its markets. Be sure to specify the
various elements of the promotional mix that you would recom
mend to NASCAR. Do research on NASCAR
and its rise in the sports world before designing your IMC plan.
2.
Integrated marketing communications (IMC) help advertisers att
ack communication problems
from a variety of points of view. This multimedia approach has
been applied to communication by
many advertising agencies over the past few years. One challeng
e for IMC planners, however, is
the U.S. Hispanic market. Broadly defined, the Hispanic market
includes those of Spanish, South
American, Mexican, and Caribbean descent. As the number one
minority in the United States,
Hispanics comprise a market that is diverse with respect to pref
erences and lifestyles. Many in this
market still speak Spanish (or native country dialect) as their pr

imary language.
Investigate the Hispanic market by going tohttp://www.demogra
phics.com or a favorite search
engine. After you have reviewed marketing and advertising effo
rts toward this target market,
propose an IMC promotional mix that you believe would be idea
l for carrying a shopping mall’s
message to Hispanics. The basic message would be “Come to th
e Mall—We’re Here to Serve Your
Needs.” The shopping mall believes that as they attract Hispani
cs, sales and profits will increase.
Discuss your promotional mix plan with peers.
D I G I T A L N A T I V E S
When you think of Hershey’s, you think of chocolate, right? Yo
u might be surprised to know that industry
professionals see Hershey’s as a marketing and advertising mac
hine. This is somewhat surprising, given
that Hershey’s shunned advertising of any kind for years. Today
, however, Hershey’s has embraced a
multifaceted approach to its communications, marketing, and ad
vertising. One of these facets is its
interactive Web site (see http://www.hersheys.com). After revie
wing the basic structure of the Hershey’s

Web site, click on the “promotions” button on the opening page.
Once you have done this, you will see all
the current Hershey’s promotions. Review each of these promoti
ons. Take each highlighted promotion
and describe what you believe to be: (a) the primary market for
the promotion, (b) the promotional mix
tools that would be most useful to the promotion, and (c) an ass
essment of Hershey’s chances of success
for the promotion. Discuss your findings with peers.
A D ‐ V I C E
1.
Assume that you are a proponent of using integrated marketing
communications to solve
communications problems. Prepare a short two‐ page paper that
could be used to support your position.
Next, looking at an integrated media approach from the perspect
ive of someone who advocates a
traditional mass media approach for solving communication pro
blems, attack the ideas you just
formulated. Summarize the arguments against integrated campai
gns. Discuss your findings with peers.
2.
Assume that you have just been given a $10 million budget to sp

end on sales promotional tools. The
purpose of your budget is to convince consumers to begin to use
reusable grocery bags when shopping
for food. This environmental initiative is favored by most groce
ry chains. The bags (if purchased) would be
sold for one dollar at grocery stores. Outline your plan for chan
ging consumer preferences in this area. Be
sure to consider all of the sales promotional alternatives as you
formulate your plan. Designate how much
money should be spent for your designated tools. Share your ide
as with peers.
3.
Guerrilla marketing is becoming more popular as costs of promo
tions continue to increase. Public
relations (PR) specialists have learned to use this unique form o
f marketing because of its low cost and
highly creative nature. Your task is to design a guerrilla marketi
ng effort that will introduce a new flavored
bottled water to the Asian market in San Francisco. Initial distri
butors would be convenience stores,
street vendors, and neighborhood vending machines. Be specific
in what you would plan to do and how
much you think it might cost. Share your plan with peers.
4.

Many universities and colleges have turned to database marketin
g to help target student populations.
Describe how your university could use database marketing to r
each potential freshmen students. Be sure
to indicate how these students would be found and eventually re
ached by the university’s or college’s
efforts.
E T H I C A L D I L E M M A
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is an advocacy organi
zation whose intent is to encourage the
ethical use of direct marketing to solve advertising and commun
ication problems. The association’s task is
not easy, given the ethical tension between members of the indu
stry and consumer advocacy groups.
Many of the complaints about invasion of privacy, high pressure
tactics, and false information are directed
against the direct marketing industry. Visit the DMA Web site a
t http://www.the‐ dma.org. Examine how
the DMA addresses ethics complaints and advocates for the indu
stry. What ethical issues do you think
were adequately addressed by the DMA? What ethical issues do
you think still need to be resolved? How

would you rate the organization’s effectiveness based on what y
ou have seen and read? Discuss your
findings with your peers.
MRKT 354
Integrated Marketing Communications
University of Maryland University College
This document is confidential
IMC Plan Power Point Template
1
Overview
An integrated marketing communications (IMC) plan is created
annually and it focuses on the 4th P of marketing (Promotion).
The audience for this presentation will be key people inside the
organization (top managers, marketing , communications, &
sales team, web master, etc.) and external hired communications
teams (advertising, media, public relations, and direct
marketing agencies, etc).

The facts used in this plan must be researched using credible
sources. All sources need to be referenced and identified using
APA or MLA style.
The plan will be developed in 3 parts:
1. Part 1 covers the current marketing strategies used by the
product & sets the communications objectives for the new year.
2. Part 2 covers the IMC strategies and feedback metrics you
recommend.
3. Part 3 is more detailed and tactical. It includes the budget,
the promotional mix and how overall plan will be evaluated. In
addition, since it is the last submission, part 3 should also have
all the parts of the final plan including the Executive Summary,
a complete Table of Contents and Bibliography, plus an
Exhibits you developed when working on the plan.
2
How to use this template
Use this template to develop your IMC Plan. You can either:
1. Copy these slides and use them as guides to develop your
own format. However, all the topics must be covered.
2. If you use this template, keep the headings, but remove all
the directions and tips for a professional presentation.
Customize your project with your own graphics and artwork, or
just use this template.
Check out the Effective Power Point Presentation Tips in your
Marketing Toolbox under course resources.
Add additional slides if you need more space to effectively
present key information. But use the numbering system already

in the template.
3
IMC Plan Project Objectives
By completing this project you will be able to:
Demonstrate knowledge of basic marketing & IMC principles
and strategies
Apply marketing communications principles to a
product/service/market situation
Develop/improve Power Point presentation skills
Demonstrate critical thinking, research and analysis skills
Demonstrate information literacy skills
4
Suggested Initial Approach to the IMC Project
Research & select your product/service & get faculty approval.
Identify the external research sources you need for your plan
from the UMUC virtual library. Contact the librarian if you

need help finding specific sources,-library is open 24/7.
Check out the product website and competitor websites; visit
the store to see where your product/service is sold. Keep a file
on the product’s communications & study their approach &
content.
Analyze your selected product’s marketing communications’
messages, media used and public relations programs and social
media used.
Participate in class discussions on the plan topics and pick up
additional tips.
5
Tips for Developing the IMC Plan
Stay current with text readings, and class discussions.
Refer to following resources: “Launch! Advertising and
Promotion in Real Time” class text; Principles of Marketing by
Kotler & Armstrong-310 class text; Tips for Effective
PowerPoint Presentation” and Glossary in UMUC Marketing
Toolkit.
Don’t wait until the week the project is due, it will take much
longer to do an effective job.
Refer to grading criteria in the syllabus to ensure you have
devoted enough emphasis to those items with higher point
values.
Edit! Be sure your concise presentation looks professional and
addresses all the issues in the syllabus and this template. Also

remember to double check all spelling and grammar before
submitting because it is expected that marketing communica tors
use correct English
Ask questions early and often!
6
Expectations for External Research
Finding perfect information is not realistic; budget time spent
on research carefully. Contact UMUC librarian for research
ideas. All your external information should be gathered within
the first 3 weeks of class. Be sure to identify each source.
Look for sources that provide additional product, media, and
competitor information, industry trends and other readily
available data. Note: it is not required that you pay for any
research data or subscription services.
Expect to make educated generalizations and always include
some rationale for your conclusions.
Expect to use endnotes to verify information and a
bibliography, both in an acceptable citation style, e.g. MLA,
APA. Refer to UMUC’s Writing Center for proper citing rules.
Expert 90 percent of the plan’s sources should be academic
sources, not Wikipedia, Facebook and Google searches.

7
Delete all these introductory slides when you submit your parts
1, 2 and 3. Start with your own title slide.
Your IMC Plan Presentation will start with the next slide
8
Your name
Course name/number, section,
semester (Note: this plan is confidential should appear on the
title slide.)
(Your Product Name)

9
Executive Summary
Prepare this slide last and submit it with the final plan at the
end of the semester.
Contents of this slide should include:
Summary of the key findings of your analysis, including new
communications objectives.
Briefly state your promotion mix recommendations for coming
year.
Identify any corporate policy items that will be impacted with
new recommendations.
10
Table of Contents
Prepare this slide 3 times and submit:
Part 1 Table of Contents
Parts 1 and 2 Table of Contents
Final Plan – submit full table of contents
11
Part 1
Current Marketing Situation Product Marketing Strategies

___________________________
This part should focus on “what currently is” based on your
research, not what strategies you want in the new year. Much
of the information in this part will be from marketing concepts
learned in a Principles of Marketing course. Refer to the
Marketing Toolkit posted in Course Resources.
12
Pointers for development of Part 1:
Do not include a history of the company, remember the
audience for this presentation are part of internal & external
team to help execute this plan.
Do not approach this as a term paper, this should be a concise,
easy to read presentation using graphics to effectively present
important information.
Use accurate marketing terminology.
13
Part 1.a. Product Description
Concise Marketing Overview of the Product & its role in the
Market
Consumers buy solutions, not product features. The IMC’s main
purpose is to communicate the product’s value in solution terms
to specific target audiences. Clearly describe:

3 specific levels of the product (core, actual description and
augmented)
Customer need the product serves (physical, social or
individual)
What type of product it is (convenience, shopping, specialty or
unsought)
14
Part1.b. Product Description
Current Product’s competitive position
Note: Use the SWOT Analysis & Competitive Analysis
worksheets attached to the end of this plan to help you with this
section. It should:
Identify the product’s market share (Hoover.com is a good
source, but frequently hard to find, so just be close and provide
your rationale)
Name competitors, their pricing, kinds of advertising used, etc.
Identify their vulnerabilities relative to your product.
Identify if product is a market leader, nicher, challenger, or
follower.
15
Part1.c. Product Description
Value Proposition
What is the product’s current value proposition? Is it more for

more, more for same, more for less, and your rationale.
What is the products set of benefits that it delivers to satisfy
consumers’ needs?
How does the product differentiate itself from its competitors
How does it try to develop lifetime value for its target
audiences?
16
Part1.d. Product description
Primary target market characteristics
Remember the more a marketing communicator knows about a
target audience, the greater chance the message will be heard in
targeted media (refer to chapter 6) The target audiences should
be:
At least 3 targets that meet the following criteria: accessible,
measurable, profitable and distinguishable.
Identify type of market targeting strategy currently used:
undifferentiated, differentiated, concentrated or
micromarketing.
17
Part 1.e. Product description
Target Market Buyer’s decision process
This information is very important because it indicates how
much information a consumer needs before they purchase the
product. For example, a car is requires more in-depth

information (brochures, web, etc.) than Coke. Which choice
used:
Complex buying process
Dissonance-reducing buying process
Habitual buying behavior
Variety-seeking buying behavior
18
Part 1.f. Product Review
Brand Strategy of the product/service
This topic analyzes how the firm brands the product. Discuss
the following issues:
Is the product a national brand that already has brand equity, is
it a new brand or no brand equity?
Is the product part of a product line, if so, what else is included
in the product line?
Is the brand adequately represented in the packaging, such that
the primary target market can identify the positioning strategy?
19
Part 1.g. Product Review
Type of product/service lifecycle & benefits/features
analysis
The stage the product is in is very important to the marketing

communicator because it provides clues to how much
advertising investment should be made in the product. Analysis
should include:
Which of the 5 lifecycle stages is the product currently in and
your rationale.
Identify the benefits and features of the product to the target
audiences.
What adopter category are your target audiences in (innovators,
early adopters, early mainstream, late mainstream or lagging
adopters and your rationale.
20
Part 1.h. Distribution Review
Current supply chain members and their roles
An important part of adding value and maintaining relationships
with customers is the product’s supply chain and their roles.
What is their distribution strategy (intensive, selective or
exclusive)? How is the product distributed?
Describe or diagram the channel system for primary target only.
You may need to discuss more than one channel system. For
example, may have a direct to customer channel, and one or
more indirect channels to the final customer.
21
Part 1.i. Distribution Review
Value delivery network analysis

Be sure to discuss how each member adds (or doesn’t add) value
for the final consumer. Discuss whether you product is
distributed via a:
Conventional distribution channel
Vertical marketing system (VMS)
Corporate or contractual VMS
Horizontal Marketing System
Multichannel Distribution system
Also discuss whether their distribution strategy is selective,
intensive or exclusive
22
Part 1 Communications Objectives and Issues
First year communications objectives
Marketing communicators need to know where the target
audiences are currently and what stage should they be moved to.
Communications objectives need:
At least 3 broad measurable communications objectives needed
(ex. Increase product knowledge from current % to what % by
when)?
Identify the buyer readiness states of the primary target
audience (awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction
or purchase).
23

Issues impacting the objectives attainment
This is the where you need to identify any issues that need to be
addressed before these communications objectives can be
achieved. For example:
Adequate budgets
Timely approval of budgets
If creative materials need pre-testing, you need to identify when
results are needed, etc.
24
This concludes Part 1
Be sure to go back and develop your Table of Contents
Be sure to edit your work, follow the tips for effective Power
Point Presentations
Be sure to include your endnotes and bibliography for this part.
Check your work against the grading rubric
Upload your Part 1 to your assignment folder by the due date
listed in the course schedule and double check to be sure it is
the version you want to send.

25
Part 2
IMC Strategy Recommendations
Goal #1 of Part 2 is to provide direction on the overall creative
message design and structure. This is called the Creative Brief
and discussed in detail in chapters 8 & 12.
Goal #2 is to provide recommendations on broad media
channels to use.
Goal #3 is to identify the feedback metrics that you recommend
using to measure the effectiveness of the plan.
26
Part 2.1 Communications Strategy Recommendations -Overall
Message Design
What is the key “Big Idea” you want integrated in all the
messages?
What is the key promise and supporting reasons why.
What call to action do you want used, example: go to website
URL, phone #, etc.
What are the mandatories, or constraints that need to be
included in the messages; such as logo, tag lines, warning
labels, drug interactions, etc.

27
Part 2.a. Marketing Communications Strategy
Recommendations
Message Content
This is where you say what you want to say about the product,
for example:
What specific product information is critical
What differentiates this product from its competitors
What appeals should be used (emotional, rational, sex, ethical,
etc.)
What buyer readiness stage is your target audience in
What disclaimers need to be used (put this detailed/legal
information in the Exhibits
28
Part 2.b. Marketing Strategy Recommendations
Message Structure
Provide strategic direction on how to deliver the key message to
the copywriter and art director. You are not writing copy for the
ads; that is for the creative team, for ex:
Use one or two-sided arguments
Draw a conclusion or leave it to the target audience
Whether to present the strongest argument first or last
If you want comparative messages used, need to provide
competitors & products.

29
Part 2.c. Marketing Communications Strategy Recommendations
Format/executional framework
2-parts to this analysis need to be provided:
Identify what formats the ad message should be in (30 or 60 sec.
tv spot, full page or partial ads, etc.)
What executional framework you believe will work best
(lifestyle, scientific, testimonial, demonstration, slice-of-life)
30
Part 2.d. Marketing Communications Strategy Recommendations
Media Channels
The integrated marketing communications perspective stresses
careful strategic blending of many media tools to be sure that
the message touches the target audience in the same way
wherever this interaction takes place-refer to ch. 9
Use personal, non-personal media or both
Use traditional, non-traditional media or blend
Identify what media your direct competitors use. (Point is not to
copy them, but to be aware of what they use and why)
Identify what media mix to use and why. (this should be broad,
for ex. Public relations; because you will get more detailed in
Part 3, for ex. Media event, press release, etc.

31
Part 2.e. Marketing Communications Recommendations
The Message Source
Offer direction on whether it should be a celebrity, man/woman
on the street, etc. and why.
What source characteristics do you want, such as; trustworthy,
credible, expert, etc.
What kind of voice talent do you want used, if you specify
radio, YouTube, etc.
State if you want a spokesperson who has never been used by a
competitor,etc.
32
Part 2.f Marketing Communications Recommendations
Feedback Metrics
A single communications campaign can cost millions. To meet
the growing demand for accountability; research and media
experts have developed accurate evaluations for advertising
effectiveness. (refer to ch.5)
Specify what internal and external measurements should be used
Identify the timing of the metrics & if they should be pre & post
This is also where you would share what metrics were used
before and the results, but you are not responsible for it here

33
End of Part 2
Be sure the Endnotes and Bibliography have been up dated.
Review for any editing errors
Double check to be sure all the required content is provided
34
Part 3.1 Promotion Mix Tools, Budget Rationale and Plan
Evaluation
Refer to chapters 7, 9, 10, 11
Part 3 is going to be more detailed and tactical as you
recommend what specific media will best reach the target
audience and the overall budget to implement it.
This part will also summarize how the final plan will be
evaluated and its timetable.
This slide needs to summarize the overall tactical promotional
mix and rationale for it.

35
Part 3.2 Overview of Promotion Mix Tools and rationale on how
they support the objectives
You need to identify how you plan to integrate the promotional
mix messages to reach your identified target audiences and
achieve your communications objectives.
Don’t forget to identify how you plan to reach the “middle
market” between the company and the final consumer. For
example; trade promotions, sales incentives, or dealer
promotions.
What role do you recommend the corporate web site has in the
promotional mix?
36
Part 3.3 Promotion Mix overview
Promotional Budget
Need to identify the budgeting method you plan to use –refer to
chapter 7
Need to identify the overall promotional budget in dollars.
Need to identify how you want the budget allocated and your
rationale.
Don’t forget budgeting for external research (if planned),
sponsorships, website promotions, public relations and
production costs for the plan.
37

Part 3.4. Promotion Mix Tools
Promotion Mix Strategy
Discuss how you plan to integrate the paid advertising, personal
selling, sales promotions, etc. Note: in some products mass
advertising tools will be the central focus. In other products,
advertising will be used to support a sales force and trade
promotions only.
Do you plan personal, non-personal or both
Plan for a push, pull or combination & why
What is the promotional timing, for ex, fall for gift season, slow
seasons to simulate sales, etc.
You need to demonstrate you understand the advantages and
disadvantages of the various recommended media .
38
Part 3.4.a Promotion Mix Tools
Advertising Objectives
Refer to chapter 8.3. The objectives are for paid promotional
tools only.
Need to be stated in measurable terms. For ex, objectives could
include what % and how often do you recommend the messages
reach the target audiences
If sales promotions, what % coupon redemption do you
recommend & why
Also need to indicate the timing measurements.

39
Part 3.4.b Advertising Objectives
Message Themes
Effective advertising message are very important in today’s
costly & cluttered media environment. You need to:
Define key elements of message (what do you want to say)
Define emotional tone (how to say it)
Define production goals (what the ad will look like)
Note: you are not writing the product copy, but you are to
provide strategic direction to the copywriters & art directors.
40
Part 3.4.c. Media Strategies & Plan
Name the specific media vehicles, including social media and
other digital tools, such as; Google Search, Facebook, etc.
Determine audience reach, frequency and other relevant
measurements.
Media timing for the product; such as fall and winter months for
cold/flu meds, spring and summer for new car intros. Also
remember targeting certain months can save on media budgets.
41
Part 3.4.d. Public relations strategies
and other tools

The goal of public relations is to build good relationships and
enhance the image of the firm with the advertiser’s publics,
namely consumers, stockholders, legislators, and employees.
However, since public relations messages are not paid media
placements, marketing communicators can’t control their use.
Recommend what tools you want; such as press releases, media
events, publicity or crisis management, etc.
Refer to chapters 9 & 10.
42
Part 3.4.e Personal Selling Objectives and Strategies
Personal selling involves direct interaction between the
company rep and the customer. Remember, that in the case of
grocery products, etc. the grocery buyer is the consumer.
Recommendation for sales incentives, contests, and support
materials, and brochures, etc.
43
Part 3.4.f Direct Marketing, E-active, & Online Objectives and
Strategies
These media are an increasingly important part of the overall
marketing communications program. Need to:
Identify what direct marketing media (refer to sales
communications delivered directly to individual customers thru
e-mail, direct mail & telemarketing) to use, timing, etc.

Identify online, mobile, buzz marketing, and the web changes
needed, such as; a web landing page, etc.
Recommend what social media to use, including online product
reviews & blogs, refer to chapter 10.
44
Part 3.5 How to Evaluate Plan
Accountability is increasingly important because why spend the
money to advertise if it is not accomplishing your
communications & advertising objectives(refer to chapter 14).
How & when do you want the entire plan evaluated:
Return on Investment (ROI)
What final measurement metrics to use (coupon redemption,
new customers etc.
Pre & Post evaluation of creative messages, etc.
Tracking and click-though rates on website
45
Endnotes
Be sure to use proper citation format.
Need to cover all 3 parts of the plan.

46
Bibliography
Refer to the excellent reference tools found in the UMUC
virtual library to be sure of people citation format.
Be sure to use a proper citation format or you will lose points.
47
Exhibits
This slide is optional, but it is a good place to include:
Worksheets (SWOT, competitors, etc)
Detailed Creative Brief including legal product language, etc.
Logo and tagline treatments
Corporate trademarks, PMS colors, and how they should be
shown in communications materials.
48
End of Part 3
Make any changes recommended in your professor’s feedback
on Parts 1&2.
Incorporate Parts 1 and 2 into a final, cohesive plan.
Include the Executive Summary and full Table of Contents.

Edit carefully and check your work against the grading criteria
in the syllabus.
Upload into your assignment folder by the due date.
49

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